B&F Wallpaper

Farrow and Ball's colors are just perfection. One of my favorites is Arsenic. It's a lovely bluey jade green.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/img_content_1.jpg" /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The arsenic color was used on the walls of this pretty Victorian house featured in <a href="http://www.livingetc.com/showcase/houses/Eclectic_Victorian_villa_article_291598.html?slide=1&thumbStart=1#gallery">Living Etc</a>. It's such a pretty, clear color.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/eclectic_house_tour__Livingetc__living-room.jpg" /></div></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/eclectic_house_tour__Livingetc__piano.jpg" /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />A couple months ago I bought about 10 triple rolls of this wallpaper at the Brunschwig and Fils sample sale. It's pretty spot on with the arsenic paint color. I think I paid either $2 or $3 a roll. It was insane.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/bf2photo.jpg" /></div></div><br />It wasn't until I got home that I realized that half of the rolls were a smaller, different pattern. I'm thinking of using the smaller pattern on the daybed wall in my office.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_7678-2_edited-1.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_7647-2_edited-1.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I've got plans for a big piece of modern art layered on top to mix up the more traditional pattern. I'm super excited.<br /><br />Spoiler alert: I brought a few rolls of the bigger damask with me to Arizona. Mom and I did a little mini-reno of her kitchen this week and the wallpaper makes an appearance. Can't wait to share the photos next week. I'm trying to dig up some before photos for you. Aren't afters are always better when you can see the befores?<br /><br />Happy weekend! xoxo</div></div>

B&F Wallpaper

Farrow and Ball's colors are just perfection. One of my favorites is Arsenic. It's a lovely bluey jade green. The arsenic color was ...

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Organizing a Desk with No Drawers

<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Some of you asked if it was tricky to keep a desk organized without any built in storage. I actually love that my IKEA desk is leggy and open, but I discovered pretty quick that some drawer storage was going to be necessary. I use my old <a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2009/10/lacquer-boxes.html">aqua lacquered drawers</a> for smaller office supplies (tape, stapler, paper clips, etc).</div><br /><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/deskcloseup.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I looked for a while for a decently priced filing cabinet that wasn't completely offensive looking. Finally this little filing cabinet showed up at the Chelsea Flea Market for only $20. Sold!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_7944.jpg" /></div><br />It looks like four drawers, but it's actually just two deep drawers for hanging files and it fits perfectly under the IKEA desk. I thought about painting it, but I'm sort of digging the wood. (and you can't tell that the top is scratched when it's under the desk)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_7627-2.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">You can also see in the photo above that I use an antique wire basket for magazine storage. I get a lot of magazines and catalogs, so I like having a place to keep them that's off my desk top. They sit here safely until I have a chance to read them and then I recycle most or pass them on to friends. I also have a couple <a href="http://www.containerstore.com/shop/office?productId=10029389&N=7&Ntt=acrylic">acrylic folder trays</a> from the Container Store for rounding up loose files and papers at the end of the day.</div></div><br />On the other end of the desk, I keep two seagrass baskets for corralling trims and loose fabrics I pulled from the shelves of fabrics on wall behind this desk. I keep another acrylic tray here too for my husband's magazines. Isn't that glass ball so cool? It was another flea market find and wish I knew more about it so I could buy more!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_7694-2.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I'm finding it's pretty easy to keep this desk clean. If I can't fit all the loose paperwork in my tray at the end of the day, then it's time to file. There are no 'black hole' drawers here. It forces me to be more organized and then my desk stays tidy. Kind of necessary when my work space is approx. 5 feet from the living room.</div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_7726.jpg" /></div></div></div>

Organizing a Desk with No Drawers

Some of you asked if it was tricky to keep a desk organized without any built in storage. I actually love that my IKEA desk is leggy and ope...

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My Desk

With <a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-balance-jenny-komenda-of-little.html">all this talk</a> about work schedules and approaches, I thought it would be fun to share some photos of my home office in progress.<br /><br />(See <a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-office-chairs.html">here for the story</a> on my vintage office chairs.)<br /><br />Our loft has two long banks of windows. One is in our living area and the other is in our office/guest space (both these rooms are open to each other). I wanted the desk to basically run the length of the windows so an assistant could work there during the day and my husband at night. I wanted a shallow desktop. Also I needed something with legs that were or could be pushed forward so the desk could sort of sit over the top of the radiator vents. Sounds like a custom job, right? No good for me ($$$$$), so I figured I'd have to build something myself (<a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2010/07/pretty-office.html">like this</a>).<br /><br />Then I remembered that IKEA sells interchangable table tops and legs at really reasonable prices. I was hoping for something on the more modern/streamlined side anyway. I was able to buy two of the <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40136558">VIKA pine wooden tops</a> and <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10115519">three of these metal legs</a> for about $90 total (the pricing is/was a little less in-store -- I bought the legs for $10 each and the tops for $30 each).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/ikeadesk.jpg" /></div><br />The legs attached very easily with the use of a drill and the provided screws. Just make sure to measure where you want the legs to sit, so that the legs line up together.<br /><br />We were a little nervous that putting a single leg under the seam of the table tops (in the middle) was a bad idea, but it has been really fine - no problems here. I really just didn't want the added bulk of a fourth leg. Then it would just look like two desks pushed together. I'm so glad it worked to just use three legs. The result was exactly what I wanted.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_6809.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I love the modern shape of the legs.</div><br /><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_6814.jpg" /></div><br />Once I had everything put together, I whipped up a quick pickling paint concoction with a little bit of white paint, some gray primer (because that's what I had around in the dark gray department) and water. I would say I ended up with four parts water to one part paint. I wanted it on the watery side.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_6798.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I wanted to be able to see the knots and some of the grain in the wood through the paint job.</div><br /><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_6818.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Pickling the tabletop was about the easiest paint project I've ever done. It took about 10 minutes to brush on all 100" of table length!</div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/DSC_0002-7.jpg" /></div><br />I wanted a brass look on the legs, so I broke out my quart of Ralph Lauren Regency Metallic Parlor Gold and brushed it on the legs with a foam brush (no primer first, because I was feeling a little lazy - it was after bedtime. See me in my jimjams?). I did two or three coats and then sealed the gold painted with Polycrylic.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_6822.jpg" /></div><br />I made this desk a couple months ago and it has held up beautifully. No chipping on the legs and the tabletop has withstood it's fair share of rogue crayon/marker scribbles.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/DSC_0044-8.jpg" /></div><br />I'm happy with the look of mixing the pickled wood with the modern brassy legs. And I really love how much surface space we have in that room now. It's great for a second work station, but I also use it a lot for laying out fabrics and samples. Two thumbs up for this great IKEA product.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/album%202/IMG_7632-2.jpg" /></div><br />More on my office next week. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!! xx

My Desk

With all this talk about work schedules and approaches, I thought it would be fun to share some photos of my home office in progress. (See ...

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Design Beach House in Punta Misterio by Longhi Architects

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pdIW7Zsn3p-h9n17c7BQo2MkLXB1iacK0UEA12imoUaADP5oKjAoW-rkNj0Ic3uypA7WfJMihm-VDpKzCDOOn_RjikWDAQiLC2pHWF9V9Lyv-y4956r0-lJ0VmuFq_gzxDP-PPfNaGdU/s1600/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects+%25284%2529.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628863960152377250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pdIW7Zsn3p-h9n17c7BQo2MkLXB1iacK0UEA12imoUaADP5oKjAoW-rkNj0Ic3uypA7WfJMihm-VDpKzCDOOn_RjikWDAQiLC2pHWF9V9Lyv-y4956r0-lJ0VmuFq_gzxDP-PPfNaGdU/s400/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects+%25284%2529.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 440px; height: 296px;" /></a>Design Beach House in Punta Misterio by Longhi Architects. This house has the architecture and design an attractive house, the which Followed the classical style of the house but modern Peru. This house is a very attractive location and the formation of this building. Like in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean this house floating in the sea. The building is conceived as a place where the desert meets the Pacific Ocean Dry Peru, this beach house located at 117 km Punta Misterio. south of Lima, is an intervention in the which the integration of architecture and landscapes Important concern. Sand roof garden acts as an extension of the desert, lap and recreational swimming to connect the sea with houses, while the glass box hanging from the structure symbolizes the architecture, the between sand and water.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitH34sb33Oh0mv_f16S2hif-fEgmzvg1j51o4f5cMGK2IIIdOvTwGTrVq7lZGBiLvayc4S-dojjYryI4xSHFbMUODuVKUDEK-KguW6Gp52VCRxYdcxuARmQ8LTrZzY41A0Sda0PB1cSnSK/s1600/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects+%25283%2529.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628863954851229074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitH34sb33Oh0mv_f16S2hif-fEgmzvg1j51o4f5cMGK2IIIdOvTwGTrVq7lZGBiLvayc4S-dojjYryI4xSHFbMUODuVKUDEK-KguW6Gp52VCRxYdcxuARmQ8LTrZzY41A0Sda0PB1cSnSK/s400/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects+%25283%2529.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 524px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFL-copsk2sLZHj0xLe4ThzIoVTJKWl_hlSYY8DDuHCGSDLExNhxUUnq0jLQIvjcMA0UzrdOGCoOms7uCp9tOqZ3LpSAnoSeUw_VNoZ8B77Dzc3Ka5fvaUga2XRazRJEFh8O9lnwyde9J/s1600/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects+%25282%2529.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628863953045956210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFL-copsk2sLZHj0xLe4ThzIoVTJKWl_hlSYY8DDuHCGSDLExNhxUUnq0jLQIvjcMA0UzrdOGCoOms7uCp9tOqZ3LpSAnoSeUw_VNoZ8B77Dzc3Ka5fvaUga2XRazRJEFh8O9lnwyde9J/s400/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects+%25282%2529.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 489px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbBAia5EZ0Dx8FJQKInuqrA-L88gueK_-oikCfau0bgPf8kVMrElMziSUvJ9bogGJfGsvVNkD8Bznnh_XwAvmMv99RXfT-DZjkgKgPOR6YKBj0BYL1C8rgByIGUN5enOY1j_bZOmfp91V/s1600/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628863951510344738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbBAia5EZ0Dx8FJQKInuqrA-L88gueK_-oikCfau0bgPf8kVMrElMziSUvJ9bogGJfGsvVNkD8Bznnh_XwAvmMv99RXfT-DZjkgKgPOR6YKBj0BYL1C8rgByIGUN5enOY1j_bZOmfp91V/s400/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 349px; height: 555px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrtIp0I0ap8IgXMUkCz2_tYwFuqADKrc8GeitW3YtXYpkX0-KjvfUPg2evVXD7AxTIO8HrO0mSIHvOwu-nRJzMVRIuj-zrXHru28AZrOXj60FcA-FiHN08jzE0UNcKWaLMnsaK2NBCxCl/s1600/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects+%25285%2529.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628863966197281298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrtIp0I0ap8IgXMUkCz2_tYwFuqADKrc8GeitW3YtXYpkX0-KjvfUPg2evVXD7AxTIO8HrO0mSIHvOwu-nRJzMVRIuj-zrXHru28AZrOXj60FcA-FiHN08jzE0UNcKWaLMnsaK2NBCxCl/s400/Design+Beach+House+in+Punta+Misterio+by+Longhi+Architects+%25285%2529.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 465px;" /></a><br />Design cool beach house in Peru

Design Beach House in Punta Misterio by Longhi Architects

Design Beach House in Punta Misterio by Longhi Architects. This house has the architecture and design an attractive house, the which Followe...

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Motherhood

So many of you fellow mothers have commented or emailed asking for tips on "how to do it all." It makes me laugh to think that I would be the imparter of advice on that one. This summer has majorly challenged me on the professional/personal balance front. All great things happening - just not enough hours in the day.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/joannamotherhood.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Disneyland yesterday morning. This photo makes me laugh everytime. Grace and Claire were so excited to get going and the last thing they wanted to do was stop for a photo. :)<br /></span></div><a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/">Joanna</a> asked me to participate in a series she has this week on juggling motherhood with work. It was fun to write out my schedule and some of my thoughts about the subject, but I think my ultimate conclusion was that we all have to find a balance that works for us and constantly be re-evaluating and adjusting. I am reminded every day that life is full of trade offs. I feel like my schedule is a little too work-heavy right now, so we are taking this long trip out west. Vacationing with kids isn't always the most rejuvenating, but I am so happy to be with them all day, every day.<br /><br />Thanks to Joanna for including me in her series. You can check out the post <a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-balance-jenny-komenda-of-little.html">HERE</a>.<br /><br />xoxo

Motherhood

So many of you fellow mothers have commented or emailed asking for tips on "how to do it all." It makes me laugh to think that I w...

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